Joseph mccain



(No Model.)

J. McGAIN. BICYCLE HUB! 7 No. 578,350. Patented Mar. 9, 1897.

Bavari UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH MCCAIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FREDERICK P. BECKER, OF SAME PLACE.

BICYCLE-HUB.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,350, dated March 9, 1897. Application filed April 2, 1896. Serial No.585,866. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH MCCAIN, a cit-izen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bicycle-Hubs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bicycle-hubs; and its object is to, improve the efficiency and make more economical the construction of the same.

The invention consists, substantially, in the construction hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularlypointed out in the appended claim.

Like letters refer to the same parts in the several figures of the drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the hub em-' bodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same, and Fig. 3'

is an end elevation of the same.

The letter A in the drawings designates a cylinder or tube forming the barrel of a hub of a bicycle, which is made of any suitable material, but preferably of rolled steel. This tube or barrel has formed in it, by a press or otherwise, a bead B, which projects outwardly therefrom. This bead is constructed with several, preferably three, indentations C, which may be formed by mashing down one side of such bead, as shown in the drawings, or by cutting a portion of the material therefrom. The indentations, for convenience, should be arranged on the outside of the bead. There should be two beads to a hub. It is desirable to arrange the bead which is near the end of the hub upon which the sprocket-wheel is to be placed a little farther from such end than is located the bead at the other end of such hub, for obvious reasons. A collar or spoke-ring D is placed upon each end of the hub outside the bead, and this collar or spoke-ring is formed with a concaved end surface to fit the curve of the bead, and has at appropriate intervals inwardly- 'projecting portions to interlock with the indentations of the bead, as is well shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, but, if desired,

the spoke-ring and the projection in the bead of the hub, although the construction shown is deemed preferable. The spoke-ring or 001- lar has, as shown, a horizontal annular flange surrounding and bearing upon the end of the hub tube or cylinder and a Vertical flange projecting at right angles to such hub tube or cylinder, in which latter is formed the aperture G, through which the spokes pass.

- It will be understood that the spokes pass through the apertures in the spoke-ring and by means of the heads of such spokes are supported by such ring, and inasmuch as said spokes extend at an inclination inwardly toward the tire, to which they are suitably secured, it results that the spokes serve to tightly hold the spoke-ring in place against longitudinal movement, while the indentations and projections on the bead and ring, respectively, prevent rotary movement of such ring.

It will be readily seen that inasmuch as the spokes are thus secured at one end to the spokeflange, instead of to the hub tube, if one of such spokes should pull out or become broken it will not be necessary to throw away the hub, because the spoke-ring may be readily removed and a new spoke inserted, or, if the ring is damaged, a new ring substituted, and thus the expense of repair in such cases will be much lessened. Again, the hub tube or cylinder may be made of lighter material than is usually employed, because the spokes are not secured to the same, and the spoke-ring should be made of heavier material than such hub or tube, so as to resist the strain upon it. Inasmuch as the spoke-ring is much smaller in dimension than the hubtube, it follows that economy is secured by this construction. It is further manifest that inasmuch as the spokes are secured to the spoke-ring, and not to the hub, they can be more readily removed from the hub-tube than if secured to the latter direct.

Various modifications in the details of the above-described construction may be readily made by one skilled in the art without departing from the principle of the invention,

and I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to these exact details.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a bicycle, the combination With a hubtube having an annular bead formed therein near each of its ends, said bead provided With several indentations pressed therein,of spokerings, having their inner surfaces conform to the end of the tube and the bead, and having lugs adapted to interlock With the indentations of the bead; substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of March, 1896.

JOSEPH MCCAIN.

Vitnesses:

FRANK T. BROWN, M. I. CAVANAGH. 

